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The SYSTEM Series

August 9, 2022  |  Toolkits and Training Materials

The SYSTEM (Strengthening Your System to Energize Momentum) Series is designed to help communities more effectively end homelessness by providing tools to help communities:

  • Identify areas where they can make the most meaningful improvements to their systems;
  • Continuously execute on those improvements for the greatest impact, and
  • Leverage their Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) application for the CoC Program competition to kick-start efforts to build a more effective system.

The 2022 SYSTEM Series update includes updates on emerging priorities that all effective homeless response systems must be prepared to address, as well as insights on issues and areas that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has prioritized in the FY 2022 CoC Program Competition NOFO.

Blog: “Taking Stock: System Improvements and the 2022 NOFO Competition”

Build an Effective Homeless Response System: Getting Ready for the CoC NOFO

What does an effective homeless response system do? What elements enable a homeless system to make real impacts for people experiencing homelessness? And how can you start thinking about the CoC NOFO as a vehicle to make decisions and investments to achieve such a system?

Download the Slides from this Webinar
Read the Key Takeaways from this Webinar
Download the CoC Awards Preparation Checklist
 
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Housing First

Is Your System Truly Housing First?

Housing First is at the foundation of an effective, evidence-based community response to ending homelessness. But what does it mean to truly be a Housing First community, and how can systems ensure they’re properly aligned with Housing First principles? The following resources can help.

Housing First Resources

Housing First Tools:

Housing First Blogs:

  

Housing First Videos:
Data

Building a Data-Driven Response to Homelessness

CoC data is a fundamental tool for understanding any homelessness system’s performance. The following resources explore how to best understand and leverage CoC data, to guide decisions on program investments and allocations.

Data Tools

Data Resources

Data Blogs

Racial Inequities

Addressing Racial Inequities

Racial disparities are present in nearly all homeless service systems, and it is up to CoCs to reduce these disparities and promote equity. CoCs should assess racial disparities in program outcomes, identify barriers to achieving racial equity, and take steps to eliminate these barriers in their systems. This process should include input from people of different races and ethnicities, especially those over-represented in the local homelessness system.

Watch the June 16 Webinar: Centering Racial Equity in the Work to End Homelessness: Aligning Vision with Practice at the Systems Level

Race Equity Resources

Race Equity Publications

Unsheltered

Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness

Unsheltered homelessness is on the rise, especially in West Coast cities. People experiencing unsheltered homelessness are more likely to experience homelessness for a longer period than people who are sheltered. They face unique challenges in accessing housing and services, experience serious physical, mental, and behavioral health challenges, and likely to have ongoing involvement with the criminal justice system. Systems that effectively align their resources around outreach, low-barrier shelter, targeted federal relief, and the appropriate housing programs are best prepared to make meaningful progress towards shelter and housing for those who are unsheltered.

Unsheltered Homelessness Tools

Unsheltered Homelessness Publications

Criminalization

Reducing the Criminalization of Homelessness

The increasing visibility of unsheltered homelessness has prompted some communities to expand the criminalization of homelessness. A combination of emerging strategies and effective best practices are central to helping systems overcome harmful policies, reduce and reshape police interactions with unhoused people, and stop the cycle of fines, citations, and arrests associated with being homeless.

Criminalization Resources

Criminalization Publications

Lived Experience

Listening to People with Lived Experience

The process of incorporating insights and feedback from people with lived experience is essential to effective system design. But meaningful input means much more than sporadic focus groups or token gestures. Learn how systems can re-center their strategies around the needs and perspectives of the people they serve.

Watch the June 23 Webinar: Nothing About Us Without Us: Involving People with Lived Experience in CoC Decisions

Lived Experience Resources

Partnerships

Partnering with Housing, Health, and Service Agencies

No system can go it alone. But collaborative, accountable partnerships between homelessness systems and those in the housing, health, and other human service sectors make it possible to work faster, smarter, and to make the greatest impact on ending homelessness in a community.

Watch the June 1 Webinar: Targeting New Resources for Maximum Impact on Ending Homelessness

Housing Partnership Resources

Health Partnership Resources

Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing

The availability of affordable housing allows homelessness systems to operate more effectively. CoCs play a critical role in educating local leaders and stakeholders on this need and about the consequences of the continued lack of affordable housing. CoCs should communicate with jurisdiction leaders, including for the development of Consolidated Plans, about the harmful effects of the lack of affordable housing, and they should engage local leaders about steps such as zoning and land use reform that would increase the supply of affordable housing.

Affordable Housing Resources

Anti-Discrimination for LGBTQ

Anti-Discrimination for LGBTQ

People in the LGBTQ community face homelessness at disproportionate rates, and can be discriminated against when seeking shelter or housing. CoCs should implement and train providers on anti-discrimination specific to the LGBTQ community, as well as develop and/or update anti-discrimination policies at both the CoC and provider levels.

Watch the September 31 Webinar: The 2022 CoC Program Competition Prioritizes Racial Equity and LGBTQ+ Anti-Discrimination: How to Get Started

Anti-Discrimination for LGBTQ Resources